Five Iron Frenzy Fun

VENUE: North Park University - Chicago, Illinois

BANDS: The Kick, The Huntingtons, Ace Troubleshooter, 38th Parallel, Squad Five-0 and Five Iron Frenzy.

The Kick were a late addition to the bill and opened the show a half-an-hour early with their straight rock-and-roll blended with a punk edge. The Kick announced that they had been on tour with Squad Five-0 for about five weeks and their overall sound reflected Squad's. The Kick's bassist also plays for Squad Five-0.

Aside from singing and playing their instruments, the common theme was to pump up the crowd and spit at whoever they could hit. Their overall energy and ambition was admirable, yet they illustrated the adolescence of a new band.

The most memorable song from their set was "All the Little Whores," an interesting title coming from a nice Christian band. They explained that the song is about the fans they are playing in front of who have no idea who the Kick are.

The Kick were followed by the Huntingtons, who illustrated their love for the Ramones through their apparel and musical style. Their gritty and energetic early punk sound was enough to erupt the crowd into a circle pit, which they kept alive throughout the duration of the set.

They didn't address the crowd very much and stuck to performing their songs. Much to my disappointment they failed to play "No Pool Party Tonight," which is one of their only radio and video hits (within the Christian music world). The Huntingtons still put on a good show and did their job of getting the crowd warmed up.

Ace Troubleshooter took the stage next and seemed to draw a bigger interest from the crowd. They immersed themselves into their performance with such energy that while the bassist was jumping around the stage, he took a dive that looked rather painful. He continued to flail, however, and never skipped a beat.

It's difficult to pin down a certain sound when it comes to Ace because they mix their Blink 182 style punk with a slow melodic edge that's difficult to swallow when trying to rock out. For the live performance their slower songs were a bit accelerated in order to keep the crowd moving, which was a good move on their part.

Ace Troubleshooter always put on a solid set and remain professional throughout it. Oh yeah, they were the only band with an actual tour bus.

At first glance 38th Parallel seemed to be the oddball of the evening. They were the only band without a definitive punk sound and the only "heavy band" (according to the promoter) of the evening.

As I sat and surveyed the crowd when 38th Parallel began, I saw eyes rolling like bowling balls heading towards 10 white pins. It was evident that 38th would have to prove themselves worthy to the punks craving Squad and Five Iron. And worthy they were. Their throaty metal edge combined with melodic verses and growling choruses had the crowd convinced by the third song that 38th Parallel were for real.

As I looked at the masses of people on the floor, they flowed like ocean waves to a constant beat. They were taking it in and loving it. 38th Parallel put on an energetic set that was different from the other bands of the evening, yet necessary to open the minds of the punk concert attendees.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of a Squad Five-O show is watching lead vocalist Jeff Fortson dive into the crowd like some Olympian trying score "10's" across the board. This being the second time I've seen Squad, I decided to count the number of times he leaped off the stage. Once he flipped into the audience and another time he took the mic stand with him. Then there were two instances where he walked upright on the crowd's raised hands and three other times when he just jumped horizontally into the masses of people.

Squad's set was so intense that during the first 15 seconds of the first song, the trusses supporting the lighting system were teetering like goalposts when a college football team makes it to a bowl game . They rocked the loudest, hardest and most intense set of the evening. Their punk influenced rock-and-roll was unmatched by any other band on the bill.

Squad made crowd participation a requirement. From having everyone stand up and clap to having people jump up and down, boredom was not in the equation. They even got the Chicago crowd to join in a chant saying: "The Bears still suck, the Bears still suck..." Comical really.

They played a great variety of songs off their early CD Bombs Over Broadway and their recent self-titled release. As if Squad hadn't been "rock star" enough they concluded their set with some old cover songs such as the Ramones "Blitzkrieg Bop." They brought members of the Kick out on stage and took turns at vocals and throwing each other into the crowd.

Their set was by far the best live act I have ever seen. Their happiness and sheer madness was energizing and uplifting. It can't be compared to anything I have ever seen before and that is a strong statement considering the number of concerts I attend.

Squad Five - 0 vocalist, Jeff Fortson walks on the hands of the crowd.

It's always exciting to see what lead vocalist Reese Roper of Five Iron Frenzy is going to be wearing when he takes the stage. One year I saw FIF he was dressed like a park ranger. For this particular show he had transformed himself into some sort of furry animal, complete with a large mask and padding that doubled his size. He sang part "You Can't Handle This" in full costume.

The beginning of their set was very energetic and up tempo. They performed many of the fan favorites including "Handbook for the Sellout" and "Oh, Canada."

A lot of clothes were thrown onstage; t-shirts and boxers were the popular items. Reese would tie these items around the mic stand, giving himself a Steven Tyler sort or aura.

During the time when mechanical gremlins took over Micah's guitar, Reese and the crew tried to entertain the crowd with freestyle songs, silly jokes and Jeff (the girl) performing "When I Go Out." Reese leaped off the drum platform in an elbow drop manner onto a stuffed squirrel given to Keith by a fan. Keith does not like squirrels very much. He proved that when he bit it's head off and launched the pieces into the crowd.

Five Iron is known for being silly throughout their show, then gradually changing the tone to a serious and spiritual feeling. Following their performance of "Every New Day" Reese always gives some very real and emotional spiritual insight, then sings two a capella worship songs and this show was no different. For as pumped and crazy as the crowd once was, the feeling was transformed into a settled down state of calmness.

Overall the mix of bands was very enjoyable. Six band bills are sometimes difficult to sit through, especially if some of the bands are not as good as the headliners everyone wants to see. But based on crowd participation and interest in all the bands, the number of bands did not matter. If any of these bands return to this area, I recommend checking them out. It's a great opportunity to see talented musicians and high energy performances.

By: Adam K. Zakroczymski III - Senior Editor/CEO

December 13, 2002

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